Global Ganja Report

A majority of  Maastricht city councillors on Nov. 7 called upon the Dutch government to delay for at least a year its plans to force cannabis cafes to become members-only clubs. The southern city is also calling on other border towns to join its campaign for a delay to the new rules, which the government says are necessary to combat public nuisance and organized crime. Maastricht says it needs more time to work out a system for enforcing the new rules, and to take a decision on extra policing.

Only people officially living in the Netherlands will be able to join a cannabis club, which will have a maximum of between 1,000 and 1,500 members. Maastricht has already barred all but Dutch, German and Belgian nationals from buying cannabis in an effort to reduce the number of "drug tourists." The city's new policy is costing the local economy 30 million euros a year, according to research commissioned by the Association of Licensed Maastricht Coffeeshops (VOCM). (Dutch News, Nov. 7; Expatica, Nov. 2)

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